Time
by A Random Bowser
Summary: QLFC Round 8 As her body shook and trembled, Hermione wondered if it was at all possible to shake into pieces as the small Time Turner carried her further back in time than she had ever travelled before. It took a few moments for the stars in her eyes to fade and for Hermione to place herself.


_**Prompt**_

 **Round 8** – Dystopian Future

 **CHASER 1:** What happens to Muggleborns?

 **Characters/Pairing:** Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger

 **Prompts:**

5\. (dialogue) "Who cares? We could be dead in a couple of hours."

14\. (song) 'You Are In Love' by Taylor Swift

15\. (dialogue) "Well played, Voldy."

 **Word Count** (-AN): 1363, MSW

 **Note:** If it matters, I do not own Harry Potter in any form, except for the hard back copies of the books that sit on my shelf and they bring me no money. Nor do I have any possession of the song or lyrics used herein. Be aware that there is some strong language in the first paragraph.

QLFC Round 8 As her body shook and trembled, Hermione wondered if it was at all possible to _shake_ into pieces as the small Time Turner carried her further back in time than she had ever travelled before. It took a few moments for the stars in her eyes to fade and for Hermione to place herself.

* * *

 _ **Time**_

Hermione lay, floating, drifting, seemingly trapped in her mind. Some bitch had caught her with a curse, but that wasn't the reason for her disassociation. It wasn't the first curse that blonde-haired cunt had hit her with. She could shake it off if she wanted to. _If_ she wanted to.

 _You can hear it in the silence, silence..._

"Ron!"

"Well played, Voldy. Well played."

 _You can feel it on the way home, way home..._

"We have to try, Hermione. We can't just leave them to suffer. You know what _He_ will have them do."

"No! Please, Ron, listen to me, we can't save them! Please!"

 _You can see it with the lights out, lights out..._

"Yes."

"So that's a yes?"

"I love you too, Ron."

"Who cares? We could be dead in a couple of hours. I love you, Hermione, and I want to be able to share that with the world. Even if it _is_ only to the doorway."

"Now? But Ron, word came—they're on their way. He's found us!"

"Let's get married! Now! Today."

 _You are in love, true love_

 _You are in love_

The day seemed to go in rewind, slowing down and speeding up as Hermione lay within her safe white bubble of nothingness. She could hear laughter and the riotous yells of the Death Eaters as they celebrated. She could hear Voldemort crowing about his victory over the last of the rebels, bragging that soon all of the mudbloods would be cleansed from their world.

She felt the heavy weight resting on her chest and the ring—Ron's mother's, which had been given to her mere hours ago—warm and wrapped around the ring finger of her left hand. The necklace was too heavy to be Ron's locket, given to her the Christmas before they went into hiding. So what had she worn that morning?

The Time Turner! Her Time Turner!

Hermione's fingers were trembling as she fumbled for the device she had kept tucked away since her third year. Closing her eyes, (not that it made a difference), she twisted the small dial again and again, over and over, until she was almost afraid she was going to lose count.

As her body shook and trembled, Hermione wondered if it was at all possible to _shake_ into pieces as the small Time Turner carried her further back in time than she had ever travelled before. It took a few moments for the stars in her eyes to fade and for Hermione to place herself.

 _Time moved too fast_

 _You played it back_

The sidewalk outside the courthouse was dark and empty, though light was beginning to tinge the horizon. The rare peace of the night had left tears trailing down Hermione's face, but she forced herself to walk into an alley where she knew she wouldn't be seen and disapparate to a train station near their current home. _He_ hunted in many ways: thought-tracing magic, the use of his name, cursed letters. Muggle-borns had good reason to be afraid ever since Harry had… had…

Well, ever since _He_ had been merciless.

But at least He hadn't turned his attention to the outright slaughter of Muggles just yet. Just the Muggle-borns…

Still, to be careful, use of magic near their home—or anywhere, really—was limited to almost non-existent. Even for travel purposes. As long as they were careful, lived as Muggles, and moved every year or two, they remained safe. It was a pattern they, and many others, had developed: push the insecurity aside— leave it behind, as you were forced to leave your family behind, too—and pretend.

Hermione spent several hours on the train on a dull, repetitive journey, going over her movements of the day in her mind. She would have to be careful—so that she didn't run into herself—but thankfully, her and Ron hadn't spent the whole day together. They couldn't, as much as Hermione wished they could, lest their behavior drew unwanted attention. Drawing attention was bad; normalcy was good.

Hermione carefully made her way to the house that she and Ron shared with another Muggle-born couple. While it was true that there was safety in numbers, it was also true that there was safety in keeping isolated from other witches and wizards. Those Muggle-borns who were still alive were under strict instruction to live and work in pairs of four. A schedule had been made, and monthly underground meetings were held—one of which was tonight.

The house was still dark when Hermione let herself in; she'd used the key that was hidden under the mat. She could hear the shower running, which meant her timing was accurate, and now she just had to wake up Ron.

"Ron, Ron, Love, wake up." Hermione had dropped her voice to a low hiss as she shook her long-time fiancé in an attempt to rouse him. He finally muttered a string of words which were rather unintelligible and blinked sleepy blue eyes at her. "Ron, make sure I wear my Time Turner today. If nothing else, please—it's important," Hermione whispered. As she did so, she glanced over her shoulder at the door, hearing the distinct sound of the shower shutting off, and looked back again just in time to see Ron's sleepy nod.

Footsteps coming down the hallway had Hermione rolling under the bed, hiding before she could see herself. _This was going to get complicated._

Ron was alert when his fiancée walked into the room, a long towel wrapped around her still damp body, when not seconds ago he could have sworn that she had been sitting on the edge of the bed fully dressed. "Hermione?" Ron asked, blinking and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing… Must have been a strange dream," Ron said, shaking his head. He stood and wrapped his arms around his love, resting his chin on her shoulder whilst she sorted through the jewelry that was scattered across the top of the dresser. "You should wear this today," he said, lifting up a thin gold chain and placing it in one of Hermione's hands before kissing her on the temple. "I'm going to get in the shower."

 _You can hear it in the silence, silence..._

"No! Ron!"

"Well played, Voldy. Well played."

 _You can feel it on the way home, way home..._

"We have a plan. You even approved of it. We can't get cold feet now. If we don't help them, who will?"

"No! Please, Ron, listen to me—don't go. You won't save them! Please, just trust me."

 _You can see it with the lights out, lights out..._

"Yes."

"So that's a yes?"

"I love you too, Ron."

"Who cares? We could be dead in a couple of hours. I love you, Hermione, and I want to be able to share that with the world. Even if it _is_ only to the doorway."

"Now? But Ron, word came—they're on their way. He's found us!"

"Let's get married! Now! Today."

 _You are in love, true love_

 _You are in love_

No! No, no, no, no, no! This couldn't be happening, not again. She had made changes, moved the meeting, convinced Ron to get married first. Why wasn't it enough? Why?

Hermione stood frozen in the bushes, watching as her earlier self groped for the Time Turner around her neck. Beside her, Ron was so still, eyes open and reflecting the light from the street lamps, color fading. The Death Eaters didn't wait around celebrating this time. One of them cast _Morsmordre_ , lighting up the night sky as the others quickly left. None of them saw the person hiding in the shadows. Once the final pop sounded, Hermione's body shuddered and then disappeared.

"Ron!" Hermione cried as she left the shadows of the bushes. "I am sorry, so sorry." The silent sobs shook her body as she struggled to pull the body of her husband onto her lap, not seeing the flash of light, not knowing it was over until her body slumped over the one that she had been holding.

 _Time moved too fast_

 _You played it back_


End file.
